Mexican Labor Union Denies Cartel Boss Was Their Secretary, Leaks Show Otherwise

The leader of one of Mexico’s largest unions denies allegations and reports linking a recently captured boss to the Sinaloa cartel, which is the alleged leader of widespread extortion of ranchers and truckers, and was the union’s regional secretary. A series of leaks revealed that the two men are close allies.

Known in the underworld as “El Limones,” Edgar Rodriguez Ortiz is an alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Cabrera Sarabia cell, which is aligned with the Mayos faction. Mexican security forces initially arrested El Limones earlier this week in the western state of Durango as part of an operation targeting the Sinaloa cartel. According to information revealed by Mexican security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch, El Limones was under investigation for extortion of local businessmen and ranchers, as well as being the financial mastermind of the cartel cell.

Following his arrest, Mexican authorities transferred El Limones to Mexico City, where he is awaiting trial in one of the most secure federal prisons in the country. The arrest sparked considerable controversy after a series of leaks and news reports named El Limones as the regional secretary of CATEM, one of Mexico’s largest unions.

The day after this revelation, the leader of CATEM, Pedro Haces, published a video denying any link between his union and El Limones. In his statement, Haces claimed the leaks were false and politically motivated.

However, other photographs and videos that have gone viral in Mexico show the union leader and cartel leader as close friends and allies.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning Breitbart News Foundation journalist. He co-founded the Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart senior management. You can follow it Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.